What's the difference between atomic, nuclear, and radioactive?
Answer:
Atoms are the smallest particle (they used to be the smallest undividable until subatomic particles were found) that can describe or categorize a chemical element.
"Atomic" simply refers to something dealing with or at the level of an atom.
Atoms are composed of electrons, protons and neutron particles. The protons and neutrons are joined together in the nucleus, and the electrons circle or orbit around that nucleus.
"Nuclear" simply refers to something dealing with or at the level of the nucleus of an atom. (Nuclear bombs are so called because they involve the fission of the nucleus of an atom.)
"Radioactive" refers to any object that is radiating energy, specifically radiation. This occurs when the atom begins to decay, and releases free electrons (alpha particles) or neutrons (beta particles) or gamma ray emisions.
Atomic: Of or relating to an atom. Atomic power is power generated by harnessing the powers of atoms.
Nuclear: More accurate idea of Atomic. Of or relating to the nucleus of an atom, which is made up of protons and neutrons. Nuclear power is generated by harnessing the power of the nuclei (plural form of nucleus) of atoms, by splitting unstable nuclei to release the energy that holds those nuclei together.
Radioactive: Something that gives off one of the three main types of radiation: Alpha, beta, or gamma. Radioactive stuff is, for the most part, bad for you.
Well, in general atomic refers to atoms, nuclear refers to properties of the nucleus of atoms and radioactive is something a certain kind of atom is.
atomic and nuclear are more or less the same. Radioactive gives off radiation
Atomic refers to atoms. It is an older term for energy obtained from the splitting of the atom.
Nuclear refers to the nucleus of the atom. It is a term used today for energy obtained by splitting the nucleus of an atom, called fission. It is what is used in nuclear power plants, The fusion reaction is being worked on. It is where 2 smaller nuclei are slammed together releasing a great deal of energy.
Radioactive means that the nucleus of an atom is unstable and tends to give off particles and rays to try to become stable.These are the radiation. The uranium used in a nuclear reactor is also radioactive.
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